Begin Again
by LoveIsAlwaysLouder
Summary: Caroline is going through a messy divorce and struggling to care for her young daughter. Enter Klaus Mikaelson, a young charismatic lawyer who once again turns Caroline s world upside down. She is forced to make a choice between whats safe and what she really wants


Begin Again

All rights so to rightful people

Chapter 1

" Shit" Caroline muttered as the stack of papers she had been holding tumbled to the ground and were taken up by the wind and crushed under the heels and expensive leather shoes of the hoard of people rushing around her.

The day thus far had been a disaster. Lucy had woken up with a fever and she'd scrambled to find a sitter at such short notice. She had been caught in traffic on the way into the city, when she noticed the check engine light come on her dash board. Now she was officially ten minutes late to the meeting with her divorce lawyer and all the paper work she had spent an hour pouring over last night was spilled all over the front entrance of the massive building in front of her. She bent down to attempt to gather her papers and the right knee of her jeans split open.

"For fuck sakes" giving up any hope of retaining her dignity she plopped onto her knees and began crawling around and grabbing the now dirt stained documents. Suddenly she noticed that she wasn't the only idiot on all fours. On the other side of a crowed of people, a man with light brown hair and a rumbled suit was snatching papers out from beneath people's feet, and trying to keep the ones he had collected from flying away in the wind.

She rose to her feet, clutching the papers to her chest and brushing whatever dirt she could from herself. The man jogged over, his tie loose, his jacket undone and a relaxed smile plastered on his face. He came to a stop a few feet in front of her, and extended his hand to Caroline the rumbled papers in his grasp.

"Thank you, so much. You're a life saver." She said taking the papers from him and adding them to her pile.

"It was my pleasure, really. I'm Klaus by the way or Nik whichever you prefer. "He was still standing here staring intently at her with that goofy smile spread across his face. Wearily she took his still extended hand and shook it lightly.

"Caroline. Look I don't mean to be rude, but I'm actually late so." He spoke again.

"Of course, here allow me." He strode confidently to the large doors and sung one open, gesturing her through.

He followed her into the great marble lobby and stood beside her as they waited for the elevator. Once the doors dinged and they stepped inside. Their hands collided as they both reached for the button marked fourteen.

He smiled at her once again as the elevator jolted and then began moving. After a few seconds of silence, Klaus spoke again.

" I work up on fourteen. In the Hueitt and Wes offices." She glanced over at him, nodding and offering a slight smile. He continued.

"Are you meeting with someone or?"

"Yeah, um Jackson Price." She shifted slightly uncomfortable.

" Jacks a great guy." He stated, then noticing her un ease he back tracked.

"I don't mean pry; I have a nasty habit of over stepping my boundaries, gets me in trouble in court quite often." She cracked a legitimate smile just as the elevator doors dinged and slide open.

"Thanks again." She said as she stepped out and rushed in the direction of her lawyer's office.

She was over fifteen minutes late when she finally took her place in front of Jacksons desk and plopped down the filthy file of papers.

" Tough morning?" He asked as he pulled the papers out and began flipping through them.

" Like you wouldn't believe." She huffed flopping into the plush chair in front of his desk.

" Well I hate to break it too you but it's about to get a bit worse, their pushing for at least partial custody." Caroline stiffened in her chair, her jaw locked and her teeth grinding.

"They won't get it though right? Not with the other charges and everything. "Jacksons face tightened.

"There are no guarantees with this Caroline you know that, and his lawyers are sharks, they'll do everything they can to discredit you and make it look like you're not fit enough to raise Lucy alone."

Twenty minutes later, Caroline exited the office building, extremely unsettled and wanting nothing more than to get to work so she could hurry up and get home. Caroline worked for the city, in human resources in a low level desk job. I wasn't exactly thrilling work, but the pay was good and the benefits weren't half bad. She was stable, living in a comfortable apartment above her friends store in the heart of the tiny cities downtown. She made enough to send lucy, to the stuffy private school across town, that nurtured her far too advanced mind.

When she finally arrived home that night, she found her daughter curled up on the couch with the comforter from her bed, coughing slightly and burying her head further into her pillow. After relieving her sitter, she scooped up lucy and carried her off to bed. It had been a long day and as she watched her daughter sleep she couldn't help but be filled with the same rage that had filled her that day in Jackson's office. She couldn't let him be near her. Not after what he had done.

As she crawled into bed that night and curled up alone, the only thing that brightened her mind from that day was the thought of Klaus. His dumb goofy smile and his over eagerness. She wished she could have hung on to that, but she knew that she wasn't allowed that kind of happiness.

**I know its short but it's just a start! I hope you liked it!**


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